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Rameshwaram cafe blast suspect 28-30 year old, ordered rava idli, left bag with one-hour timer IED
Rameshwaram cafe blast suspect identified as a 28-30 year old man. He came during breakfast hour, bought a coupon for rava idli but didn't eat it
As a low-intensity IED blast took place in Bengaluru's popular Rameshwaram cafe during busy lunch hour, investigators are finding clues from CCTV footage. Karnataka deputy chief minister DK Shivakumar said the suspect has been identified as a man of 28 to 30 years old. He came to the cafe during the breakfast hour, and bought a coupon for Rava idli but left the cafe without having the idli. The bag with an IED was left behind by him. Shivakumar said the bomb had a one-hour timer. The blast took place an hour later.
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How the Rameshwaram cafe blast took place
The man has been identified from the CCTV footage. He was seen coming to the cafe and purchasing the coupon for rava idli from one counter. Then he placed the bag and left the cafe. "It was a bomb blast with a low intensity or impact. The man had fixed a timer for the blast to happen after one hour," Shivakumar said adding that the people of Bengaluru had nothing to fear.
An officer said the bag was lying behind a woman who was sitting with six other customers.
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The blast took place a little before 1pm as the fire department said they received a call about an LPG leakage fire at 1.08pm. When the officers reached the cafe, there was no fire. The fire department officials however checked the cylinders to rule out any gas leakage.
Bengaluru blast: CCTV video shows moments before explosion hit Rameshwaram Cafe
An eyewitness who was waiting outside the cafe for his turn said he heard a loud noise. There were around 35-40 people at that time and all of them started running out leading to panic and chaos. At that time it was said that there was a cylinder blast. Soon an ambulance and a fire engine rushed to the spot and rescue operation started, the eyewitness said.
Till night, the suspect was not traced while Hyderabad police started checking vehicles as the suspect might have fled to Hyderabad.
The BJP said it was a failure of the police intelligence if a blast could take place at the heart of the city. The Karnataka government said there should be no politics over the incident as the incident of the pressure cooker bomb blast in Mangaluru took place in 2022 when the BJP was in power.
